The desire of mankind to record the moment, to preserve the event for future viewing, enjoyment or posterity, is timeless. Cave paintings represent the earliest recorded efforts of prehistoric man to preserve their significant daily events. Since then, easier ways have developed.
The modem photographic art dates back well over 100 years. Indeed, the very first cameras, consisting of the large box on a tripod, the extendable lens, the shroud under which the photographer disappeared before taking the picture, and the flash plate which held the exploding chemicals, can still be seen in period movies and TV shows.
Since then, the photographic art has proceeded apace at both ends of the spectrum, as high-end digital cameras which use a computer disk instead of film are now widely available, and, low-end, single use cameras, which are essentially light-tight boxes having a lens, film, and film spooling mechanism, are ubiquitous in any tourist destination. Many of the advancements in the art have been directed to different ways of dealing with the film (or, in the very early days, plates).
Equally ubiquitous are patents directed to the photographic arts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 684,221 issued on Oct. 8, 1901 for a two-piece "Combined Plate and Film Camera" in which film rolls or plates were housed in one piece, and the lens and shutter housed in the other piece. The two pieces could be removably fitted together to take pictures, then another film/plate piece fitted with the lens/shutter piece to continue taking pictures.
Not surprisingly, the Polaroid Corporation and the Eastman Kodak Company are each assignees for countless patents relating to developments in the camera and film art. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,613,541, 3,728,949, 4,324,476,4,469,423, 5,187,512, and 5,212,511). In each of these camera designs, the film (either in a cannister or cartridge) is loaded in the camera for exposure, then removed for development.
The one constant in every camera design, beginning with the shroud affixed to the earliest camera, is that unintended exposure of the film must be avoided. Therefore, the film must be protected from various forms of radiation at all times other than when the desired, intended exposure occurs. Thus, the camera, the film cannister, and the film cartridge must be light-tight.
As mentioned above, one aspect of development at the low-end has been the single use 35 mm camera. These are essentially throw-away devices. The user purchases the camera with one roll of film (typically 12, 24 or 36 exposures) already loaded. Once the photographer has used up all frames on the film roll (or less, if the user so desires), the entire camera is presented to the film developer who dismantles the camera in a dark room, removes the exposed film, and develops it. The component parts of the camera are then typically recycled in one fashion or another. Various aspects of this single-use camera have also been patented. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,507, 5,235,364, 4,972,649, 4,961,085, 4, 954,857, and 4,884,087)
While this development in the camera art has been proceeding apace, a corresponding development has taken place in the film development industry. Not too long ago, almost all exposed film was taken by the non-professional photographer to his or her local camera shop or drug store, who would in turn send the film out for development by large commercial developers who could accommodate just about every type of film, film cannister or film cartridge then available. This meant, however, that the film developer had to have expensive darkroom facilities in which the exposed film could be removed from whatever cannister or cartridge in which it was encased for processing, all without ruining the film by inadvertent exposure to radiation. It typically took several days for the photographer to receive his or her photographs.
However, more recently, 35 mm film has become the most used type of film due to the quality of the pictures and enlargements it produces. Additionally, the 35 mm cannister has also become the standard. Perhaps in response to or because of this standardization of film, store-front film developing businesses promising 1-hour turnaround times have now become commonplace. The developing equipment used in these establishments is generally geared to the modern day roll of 35 mm film, housed in a drop-in cannister. This generally cylindrical, light-tight cannister is sold with the film (typically either 24 or 36 exposures) pre-loaded, with one end (the "leader") of the film protruding from a side slit. The cannister is also fitted with a central post or spool to which the other end of the film is attached, and around which the film is rolled initially. The central spool is also typically notched at one or both ends so as to engage the winding mechanism in the camera. In a typical 35 mm camera, this film cannister is dropped into an appropriately-sized and geared cavity on the interior of the camera, the film leader is either manually or mechanically attached to the take-up mechanism in the camera which advances the film to the next frame after each picture is taken. Once all frames have been used, the film is either manually or mechanically re-wound back into the cannister, and the cannister is then removed and submitted for development.
Therefore, the vast majority of new cameras are designed to accommodate the standard 35 mm film cannister.
Another modern development in cameras and film is "captioned" film wherein each frame of the film contains a caption, such as "It's a Boy" or some other phrase or artwork, on one or more edges of the film frame. The remainder of the film frame is used for the actual picture taken by the camera, such that when ultimately developed, each picture will have the caption as an integral component of the composite photograph. There are a number of issued patents relating to captioned film in general (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,835,795, 5,615,396, 5,613,165, 5,565,936, 5,546,146, 5,187,512, and 4,827,291).
In 5,187,512, means for pre-exposing the caption on the film frames, and means for shielding the pre-exposed portion of the film when the remainder of the film frame is exposed to light through the camera lens when the picture is taken, are disclosed in either a single-use camera or a camera adapted for use with a film cartridge. In '512, the shielding means is a completely opaque piece that is attached either to the camera itself, or to the preformed film cartridge, so as to prevent light which enters through the camera's lens from reaching the preexposed caption on the film frame. Neither the single-use camera nor the preformed film cartridge in '512, however, can be developed by equipment that is restricted to the standard 35 mm film cannister.
In 5,565,936, an attempt is made to overcome this drawback in '512 by using a peelable masking strip or tape to cover the caption portion on the film. In that way, the captioned film can be loaded into the conventional 35 mm cannister and pictures taken in any standard 35 mm camera. When the film is removed from the cannister for developing, the masking tape is removed, and the film developed in the conventional way. However, the masking tape adds another component cost and step to both the assembly of the film canister and the development.
Both of the systems disclosed in '512 and '936 also suffer from what some users may consider a drawback--that the line of demarcation between the caption and the picture is well defined. In other words, there is no blending of the caption with the picture. This concern was addressed in the '795 and '987 patents, which employed a translucent diffuser as the "shielding means," rather than the opaque shielding means used in the '512 patent. This translucent diffuser allowed some light to pass through when the remainder of the film frame was exposed, so as to substantially eliminate the line of demarcation between caption and picture and thereby produce a relatively smoothly blended composite picture. Because the selected diffuser is attached to the camera, however, the camera was not well-adapted for use with non-captioned film, and, even with respect to captioned film, could only be used with film having a caption that aligned with the placement of the particular diffuser pre-installed in the camera (for example, only along the bottom edge of the picture frame). It would be preferable that the camera be able to accommodate different caption arrangements, or even non-captioned film.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a camera and film system that overcomes these drawbacks in the prior art.